Gaia Data Release 3: Stellar multiplicity, a teaser for the hidden treasure

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Gaia Collaboration - (Author)
  • Research Group for Astronomy
  • Institute for Celestial Mechanics and Computation of Ephemerides
  • IPAG - Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble
  • University of Leicester
  • Tel Aviv University
  • Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
  • University of Geneva
  • European Space Agency - ESA
  • Weizmann Institute of Science
  • National Institute for Astrophysics
  • University of Liege
  • Center of Research in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Geophysics
  • Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research
  • University of Strasbourg
  • University of Turin
  • University of Ljubljana
  • Leiden University
  • Astronomical Observatory of Padua
  • ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
  • Heidelberg University 
  • Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur
  • Université de Bordeaux
  • University of Cambridge
  • European Space Astronomy Centre
  • University of Barcelona
  • TUD Dresden University of Technology
  • Lund University

Abstract

Context. The Gaia DR3 catalogue contains, for the first time, about 800 000 solutions with either orbital elements or trend parameters for astrometric, spectroscopic, and eclipsing binaries, and combinations of these three. Aims. With this paper, we aim to illustrate the huge potential of this large non-single-star catalogue. Methods. Using the orbital solutions and models of the binaries, we have built a catalogue of tens of thousands of stellar masses or lower limits thereof, some with consistent flux ratios. Properties concerning the completeness of the binary catalogues are discussed, statistical features of the orbital elements are explained, and a comparison with other catalogues is performed. Results. Illustrative applications are proposed for binaries across the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD). Binarity is studied in the giant branch and a search for genuine spectroscopic binaries among long-period variables is performed. The discovery of new EL CVn systems illustrates the potential of combining variability and binarity catalogues. Potential compact object companions are presented, mainly white dwarf companions or double degenerates, but one candidate neutron star is also found. Towards the bottom of the main sequence, the orbits of previously suspected binary ultracool dwarfs are determined and new candidate binaries are discovered. The long awaited contribution of Gaia to the analysis of the substellar regime shows the brown dwarf desert around solar-type stars using true rather than minimum masses, and provides new important constraints on the occurrence rates of substellar companions to M dwarfs. Several dozen new exoplanets are proposed, including two with validated orbital solutions and one super-Jupiter orbiting a white dwarf, all being candidates requiring confirmation. Besides binarity, higher order multiple systems are also found. Conclusions. By increasing the number of known binary orbits by more than one order of magnitude, Gaia DR3 will provide a rich reservoir of dynamical masses and an important contribution to the analysis of stellar multiplicity.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numberA34
Pages (from-to)1-58
Number of pages58
JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics
Volume674
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 16 Jun 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-9533-2168/work/168205416
ORCID /0000-0003-4682-7831/work/168206706
ORCID /0000-0001-6967-8707/work/168207062

Keywords

Keywords

  • Astrometry, Binaries: general, Catalogs, Planetary systems, Stars: fundamental parameters, White dwarfs